


Welcome Back To the Unknown

by MidnightLegend



Series: The Unknown [2]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Again, Gen, NO Swearing, Sequel yee!, That's a lot of people, The girls have no idea what's going on, Writing this immediately after the first one, at least for me, back into the game, but the boys do, oh my, yay some new characters!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-06-24 22:03:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19732663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightLegend/pseuds/MidnightLegend
Summary: This time, there's nine players trying to survive the game.This time, there's five egos they have to fight against.This time, there's going to be more answers.This time, it's going to be a lot harder to get everyone out in one piece.





	1. Back Inside

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel time!
> 
> Oh no, more characters to keep track of.
> 
> Okay, let's get started.
> 
> (Takes place like, two seconds after the epilogue)

Evelien had prepared for Jack to yell his intro at the top of his lungs.

She'd prepared for him to attempt to explain why they were back to playing it again in one breath, and fail.

She did not, however, prepare for what happened afterwards.

That voice came back, louder than it had been than when Jack played it by himself.

The same exact process happened again, and the next thing they knew, they were being pulled back into the game.

* * *

_"Hello? Is someone there? Can anyone hear me?"_

Evelien groaned as she woke up, on a bed that wasn't her's. Jack was still unconscious next to her. She got up, looking for the source of the voice.

_"Hello? Please, answer if you can hear me."_

It must've been coming from under the bed, and sure enough, there was a radio. Evelien gave a message to whoever was on the other end.

"Hello?" Silence. She wasn't about to leave, not without Jack.

 _"Oh, I didn't expect anyone to hear me. I've been trying for about fifteen minutes now. Where are you?"_ Was that Amy?

"I'm not sure, I think it's some kind of bedroom?" Jack finally sat up, looking at her in confusion, before his eyes widened.

He didn't have time to explain why, because the door burst open, revealing some sort of shadow monster. It went straight for Evelien.

"No!" Jack yelled, trying to fend it off. The radio was knocked to the other side of the room, with Amy's panicked voice sending frantic messages trying to reach them.

One flash, two flashes, and then Evelien was gone.

"Shoot! Ah, I still can't swear!" Jack grabbed the radio. Unlike last time, there was no backpack or anything else in the room, so he went to go save his girlfriend.

He wasted no time checking rooms, they were more than likely empty anyway. The only ones that interested him were the ones with codes. Every time, he entered the same thing.

_9/11/1988_

Three times wrong, one time right, but she wasn't in that room.

That's when Jack started to panic.

He ran between rooms, now trying to find whichever one she was in. Even when he ran out of breath, he didn't stop.

That is, until he (quite literally) ran into someone. That someone happened to be Mark. Amy was with him.

"Jack? What's wrong?" He didn't answer immediately, instead attempting to catch his breath.

"Shadow...Evelien...trying to find her..." He managed. Mark helped him up.

Honestly, it was a lot easier with three people searching.

Amy was out of earshot when Mark whispered to Jack.

"So, we're back then. Strange how I couldn't remember a thing when I woke up." Jack nodded, only half paying attention.

The lights suddenly went out, followed by an all too familiar voice whispering in Jack's ear.

"I̵ ̶d̶i̵d̸n̵'̷t̷ ̶g̵e̸t̵ ̷m̷y̵ ̶f̸u̸n̵ ̴l̴a̷s̵t̶ ̴t̷i̴m̸e̷,̴ ̶s̷o̴ ̷I̷'̶l̷l̸ ̴g̶e̸t̴ ̷i̵t̷ ̸n̵o̶w̷.̴"

"RUN!" Was all Jack could manage before his ego took over.

The high pitched giggle was the only clue they needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be prepared...
> 
> Because I'm probably going to be writing something else soon.
> 
> Because writer's block sucks.
> 
> Enjoy the sequel that came out on the same day I finished the first one.


	2. Madpat (Again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate gets trapped by Madpat, who didn't get to have any fun with his 'best friend' last time...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm pretty sure I'm going way too fast with this. Whatever time for chapter two, since you guys seem to like this one (and it's predecessor, yay!) so much.
> 
> Also, I'm thinking of changing perspective every few or every chapter/s. Since the last one mostly focused on Jack and Evelien, this one is mostly through Nate's perspective.
> 
> I love third person.

Still split up.

History repeating itself not exactly, but closely enough that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference had there not been five extra people.

Except then, Natemare had been the first ego discovered.

As far as he knew, it was now Madpat being the first.

Unless Anti or Dark was out on their tails and he didn't know it.

Nate thought he'd found a safe place to hide, out of sight for anyone looking from the hallway he came from. The only way he discovered it was by sheer luck.

So either the egos knew every inch of this place or he was going crazy.

"Come on Nate, you know you can't hide from me." And he did, he really did.

Only problem was, their goal was different than last time.

Last time, they weren't _trying_ to outright kill them, just tried to make escaping harder.

The 'no killing players' rule got thrown out the window this time.

That is, if the mini bombs the mad ego was throwing at Nate was any indication.

"I may not be able to, but what do you expect me to do when you're literally _throwing bombs at me?!_ " He dodged another one.

He just needed to keep going until Mad got tired enough.

He needed to keep going until he was finished.

But he was sick of running.

He could almost hear Natemare laughing at him from inside his head. Laughing at him and taunting him by saying he couldn't run forever.

He prayed Mad didn't see him slow down, just a little.

They weren't answered.

"Is someone getting a little tired? Because I've been going easy on you, I can throw pretty far."

Why wouldn't he give up already?!

Nate reached a dead end and tripped.

Right then and there, he could've called that a pun.

Because he was sure of what was going to happen.

* * *

_"Let him go!"_

Mat watched helplessly as Nate tripped at a dead end. Either his alter ego didn't hear or chose to ignore him. At least, that's what he assumed, because Mad ended up answering anyway.

**"And miss another opportunity? No."**

So Mat kept fighting to take over before anything happened.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nate almost got the upper hand, had it not been for the ego he was up against pulling a strange device out and pressing a button.

A high pitched ringing that sounded too similar (just way higher pitched) to Darkiplier's rang out afterwards, Nate had to cover his ears to prevent permanent hearing damage.

Next thing he knew, he was being pinned against the wall.

Mad was actually really strong.

He really wished the others would show up now, because he knew they were here.

Just as he was about to give up, a shout came from the other side of the room. Both of them turned to see Jack standing in the middle of the hall, Evelien behind him while Mark and Felix were on either side of him.

"Just when I thought I was done with alter egos, and you show up?" Why did he have his hand out? Mad was distracted now.

"I'd reccomend you step back. Wouldn't want any of you getting killed this early, would we?" He didn't seem to be talking to anybody currently present. Instead, he seemed to be talking to one of the egos, as though he could see them.

Natemate actually answered, and Nate wouldn't be surprised if Anti, Dark and whatever Felix's alter ego's name was answered as well.

_"No, of course we wouldn't want that happening. It would be such a shame."_

**"Shut up Natemare."** He tried to stop it, but this seemed to make his ego angrier than he already was. He didn't answer.

"You'd probably kill him anyway." Mark was either very brave, very stupid, or both in this one moment. Mad actually _grinned_ at this answer, which was not the reaction that was expected.

"Well isn't that smart? I'm tempted to call it a genius idea. But I won't, because you're right." And then there was a knife in his hand-

-which was then knocked out by Jack, but the Irishman didn't even move.

In Mad's temporary surprise, Nate was able to escape and make his way to the others (somehow). The ego on the other side of the hall closed his eyes, before his grin returned.

"Fine then, you win this time. Next time though, don't expect to get away so easily."

And with those final words (for now anyway, who knows when he'd be back?), Mat was then on his hands and knees.

Nate went to go and help him up when Felix voiced his (and Evelien's) thoughts.

"What just happened?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Felix, a lot happened. You'll understand soon.
> 
> Holy cow, this got two comments already?! For those who did comment, thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
> 
> Anyway, I'll see you guys next time!  
> -MidnightLegend


	3. Race Against Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How far are you able to go to save yourself? How about someone you care about?
> 
> How about both?
> 
> What if you only had fifteen minutes before an unknown fate fell upon whomever it is being saved?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliche title, I know, but trust me on this. Actually, you don't have to trust me.
> 
> Mat's chapter.

Since none of the original cast actually remembered where the safe room had been last time, they assigned a new one.

Felix's question remained, unanswered, for now.

That wasn't Mat's main concern right now though.

His main concern was finding Stephanie.

They spawned in the same room, like everyone else (well, everyone except Nate, but details), but they were forced to split up when Mad came.

So, if anyone came up to him and asked why he was staring at the window that only showed a 2-D background behind it, that's why.

Jack, Mark, and Nate were now taking turns explaining to those who didn't know about what was going on, leaving behind one very big detail. That detail being the fact that it wasn't just Madpat trying to get to them. They left behind everything they knew about Anti, Dark and Mare.

 _"Tick tock, the clock's counting down, running out of time."_ Mad said, over and over, it might as well have been a chant.

**Will you cut that out already? You're starting to get annoying.**

A few moments of silence where Mat thought his ego had finally shut up.

Then he said it again.

What the ego seemed to forget was that since he was no longer in control, he didn't decide what happened. He payed for it dearly.

_"Okay, fine."_

That's when he finally quit.

Huh, Mat'd been expecting more of a fight than that.

Oh well, he might as well take the silence while it lasts.

_"You do realize why I kept saying that right?"_

**Why?**

Mat waited, watching the others.

_"It was a warning."_

* * *

**So I only have fifteen minutes?!**

_"Yep. Better use them wisely."_

Mat had left without warning, not seeming to care that the others had no idea where he was going or why. Not like he knew where, he just knew he had fifteen minutes to find her before...something happened.

Stephanie was somewhere, probably terrified, and he didn't have any idea of that until his ego said something about it. Trapped, afraid, and a whole lot of other adjectives.

Each and every room was checked, but only quickly. Fifteen minutes ran by fast sometimes, even when you didn't want it to. Every few doors, one would be locked, no sign of a key. No sign of the front door either, not even where Mat remembered it to be last time. So, in a way, it was sort of randomly generated.

Ten minutes.

Five minutes were spent looking in every room he could find, occasionally finding one with a code that was one of the other's birthdays, but never her's.

It didn't help that Mad was being annoying the whole time.

Five minutes left.

That's when he found the right room.

He'd never wanted to _kill_ the egos more in his entire life, not even when Mad threatened to kidnap Oliver. Because this, this was much worse.

He couldn't see that well ( _it was so dark why?),_ but he could clearly see that she was tied up in a similar way to the way he was in Mangled. The only difference was the blindfold being a regular one instead of Mangle's face.

But the clock was still ticking _(Why was it still going? He found her, didn't he?)_.

_"Oh yeah, did I forget to mention there's a puzzle in this room that you probably won't be able to finish in time?"_

Like he said earlier, Mat never before wanted to kill the egos like he did now.

_(A little in to the puzzle...)_

Why were there so many keys anyway? There was at least fifty, maybe even a hundred! But he still kept trying to find the right one to unlock those chains.

**I've never wanted to kill you more in my entire life.**

Mad didn't seem upset by this comment that continued to be repeated. In fact, he just seemed to be getting more confident every time.

_"Mostly because you didn't even know I existed for most of your life."_

And as much as he hated to admit it (he never said it to the ego, no satisfaction allowed), Mat knew Mad was right.

Three minutes. He seriously could not believe he wasted two minutes trying to find the right key to save his wife when she was never part of the equation to begin with. Of course he wasn't mad at her, it wasn't her fault they were in this situation.

Half of the keys had been thrown to the ground from being used, and there was only twenty five left.

So twenty five in three minutes? He only had four when he started, but for once he was given the benefit of the doubt with an extra minute.

He got through the other half in only two (and a half), but now he was just getting tired.

Mat knew Steph was concerned, if the occasional glances in his general direction were any indication. He just had to keep going, keep fighting, and maybe, just maybe, he could save her in time.

Two minutes.

_"Told you that you wouldn't finish the puzzle in time."_

**I finished the puzzle, it's these stupid keys! And shut up already!**

For once, Mad actually shut up.

T

Fifteen keys, one minute.

He was really tired now, wanting nothing more than to lay down on his own bed and go to sleep.

He had to keep going, he had to, _he couldn't let anything bad happen to her._ Not now, not here, not like this. Not when he was so close.

Two more keys, but not enough time.

Five seconds when he got to the last one.

His heart dropped when he heard the two words he didn't ever want to hear in this type of situation. From inside his head no less.

_"Time's up!"_

Then Mad was standing right in front of Stephanie-

"No!"

-and then they were both gone.

He didn't even know what happened, or what was going to happen...

But one thing he did know (or think to himself, something he was doing a lot of right now) was that it was entirely _his fault._

The last thing he remembered was passing out in that very same room.

* * *

"Matthew."

He turned.

"Matthew!"

He blinked awake, what was going on and who was yelling in his ear? He tried to say something, but he really couldn't say anything, he was just too tired.

He did know that it was Stephanie attempting to wake him up.

"I'm tired..." He muttered sleepily, not noticing something very important.

"We ran out of Diet Coke." Was all his wife needed to say for him to get up.

"What? Didn't we just get another box yesterday?" He distinctly remembered grabbing a can earlier, then noticing they were running low. Hadn't he told Steph about it?

"If by 'we' you mean 'me' and by yesterday you mean last week, then yeah." He still didn't feel like getting up.

"I will drag you out of bed if I have to." He smirked, before he looked at her.

"But I'm tiiired." He whined again, much to her annoyance.

"Well, you made me do this."

And then he was being dragged out of bed (literally) until he was sat on the couch. Steph was setting up the recording for a live stream.

"What are we playing?" She showed him the game.

"Welcome Back To the Unknown."

Somehow, he knew what was happening, but didn't say anything, mainly because he couldn't until he said his familiar intro.

But no happy moment lasts forever.

Mat woke up in the new safe room, the only other person there being Nate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hello, look who finally decided to stop posting new stories.
> 
> This was supposed to go on longer, but hey, I wanted to give you guys this now instead of once again putting it off for later.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this despite the ending of the chapter.


	4. Not Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of course it's not just them. Why would it be?
> 
> I never said there was no one who came before them.
> 
> They just hadn't found them until now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Mark's chapter)
> 
> Oh look, I'm back.

Mark wandered through the halls that seemed to go on forever.

He didn't want to split up from the others, but there was another one of those _things_ that had to be dealt with.

Everyone else had gone and escaped with Jack, running off to who knows where.

That left him by himself, Nate with Mat in the Safe Room, and everyone else with Jack.

Well, his first option was to head back to where he knew at least one person was, and he meant to do that.

But there was a door at the end of the hall that definitely wasn't there before.

Well, if there was a key behind it, then Mark thought he would take the opportunity, then head back to the others.

The door was locked, of course. If there was a key, the egos wouldn't let them get it that easily. Unlike every other lock they'd encountered so far, with an eight digit code, this one only had four.

Deciding to look around for whatever the code may be, Mark had to go back the way he came to see if he'd missed something.

He ended up finding a note left in a random room.

_I really hope no one will read this._

_But if you are, than you had to have been looking for something. Maybe it was a key, or maybe you were trying to figure out a puzzle. Either way, I might be trapped. Both in the game and in a room._

_The game is sort of randomly generated, the last I saw of it, it was in the middle of a hallway. There should be a four digit code to unlock it, unlike all of the others that have eight. If you did find this, than I guess I should tell you so I can finally be set free._

_The code is 10/23._

_Please find me, who ever you are._

Mark took the note with him. That meant someone else was with them. Who ever this person was, they might be able to help.

Just as he was about to go back to the door, the lights in the room went out, followed by the sound of a door slamming, before they were turned back on.

Nate and Mat had apparently gone out of the Safe Room to find him and the others.

Mark quickly told them about everything, splitting up, the door and the note, the fact that someone was in the game with them. Afterwards, they went to go see who it was.

* * *

"Well, what could the code be? It's only four numbers."

Somehow, they managed to find a door that had a lock with only four numbers instead of eight.

"You mean this code?" Jack turned around, finding Mark, Nate, and Mat standing behind them. Mark had a note in his hand, conveniently holding it so that the numbers were visible.

"So, their birthday is probably October 23rd then."

They tried it out, and surprise...

It didn't work.

"Wait, what?" While Mark tried again, there was that all too familiar voice that only Jack could hear, mocking them from wherever the glitch was.

_"W̷h̶a̵t̷,̵ ̷y̶o̴u̶ ̵t̷h̶o̵u̵g̸h̸t̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̴w̴o̵u̸l̷d̶ ̸b̶e̵ ̶e̷a̷s̶y̶?̴"_

"Well, unless there's a secret 23rd month no one about, or they changed the code if that's even possible, it's gotta be October 23rd."

Even though what Jack said was supposed to be a joke, Mark tried 23/10, just out of curiosity. Amazingly, this time it worked.

When all eyes were on him, Jack shrugged.

"I- I was joking, but okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sigh*  
> I lost every idea I had for this, but I'm going to try to continue it anyway.  
> This was supposed to be longer, but I'll just leave it here so I can hurry up and get this out already.


End file.
